The Cuyahoga Land Bank reactivates and repurposes vacant, abandoned, underutilized, and tax-delinquent properties to support our vision that Cuyahoga County’s land is optimally used to make our communities vibrant, prosperous, and sustainable. We do this by acquiring these properties, stabilizing them, and returning them to productive use through in-house renovations, new home construction, sale to private owners, demolition, and preparation for short and long-range economic development. We also foster creative re-use of properties for greenspace, gardening, stormwater management and other innovative and ecological purposes.
Understanding that there is power in partnerships, we work closely with agencies and public officials county-wide, a thriving network of community development corporations, and faith-based and social service organizations to transform our neighborhoods.
Responsible, well-planned redevelopment of these properties spur local housing markets, increase surrounding property values, and improve the quality of life for Cuyahoga County residents.
Ricardo León has most recently served as Executive Director of the Metro West Community Development Organization, where he led a multifaceted team of community development practitioners offering a suite of services to three Cleveland near-west neighborhoods; Stockyards, Clark-Fulton, and Brooklyn Centre. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Baldwin Wallace University and a Master of Science in Urban Studies with a concentration in Economic Development from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Ricardo’s career has spanned the startup, corporate, and consulting industries prior to joining the nonprofit sector. He extends his leadership and community focus outside of the office through his participation on the MetroHealth Foundation Board of Directors, Fund for Our Economic Future Board of Directors, Front Steps Housing and Services Board of Directors, Neighborhood Family Practice Board of Directors, Hebrew Free Loan Association Board of Directors, CHN Housing Capital Advisory Board, and numerous other community focused committees.
Gus Frangos was the primary drafter of Ohio’s legislation establishing enhanced-capacity county land banks and expedited tax foreclosure policy. Gus graduated with honors from Cleveland Marshall College of Law and served as an associate attorney at the law firm of Ulmer & Berne, concentrating in business law and litigation. He then served as City Councilman of Cleveland’s 13th Ward, where he sponsored and passed an array of community development legislation. In the early ’90s, Gus was appointed as a Magistrate Judge in the Cleveland Municipal Court, where he served with distinction. In 2004, he was retained by the Cuyahoga County Treasurer to craft legislation to help expedite the tax foreclosure process, specifically for vacant and abandoned properties. These efforts resulted in the passage of House Bill 294. He was also the primary drafter of Senate Bill 353, which established the first “County Land Reutilization Corporation” of its kind. House Bill 294 authorized expedited administrative tax foreclosures of abandoned land through the County Boards of Revision, and Senate Bill 353 enables the establishment of County Land Reutilization Corporations throughout Ohio with enhanced capabilities for the reclamation of distressed properties. Gus’s areas of legal concentration include land-related issues, Constitutional, commercial real estate, zoning, administrative and business transactional law.
Douglas Sawyer is Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel where he has worked since 2010. He manages the day-to-day legal affairs of the Land Bank and provides legal counsel to Land Bank management and staff. Doug graduated with dual degrees from Cleveland State University by simultaneously earning a Master of Arts in Environmental Studies at the Maxine Levin College of Urban Affairs and a law degree at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
Dennis Roberts is an attorney and a real estate agent and is Land Bank’s Chief Strategy Officer. In Dennis’s previous role as the Director of Real Estate Development, Dennis and his team have facilitated the renovation and disposition of over 2,200 single-family homes throughout Cuyahoga County over the last 10 years. In addition, under his leadership, the Land Bank has built/sold several newly built homes valued at more than $2 million. Dennis works to add new housing products to expanding market segments, focusing on helping more challenged neighborhoods prosper. He uses his unique blend of creative expertise, knowledge of the local real estate market, and thorough understanding of the acquisition, renovation and sales process to help municipal governments, non-profit organizations and citizens solve vexing real estate challenges and generate wealth.
Michael Schramm is the Senior Director of Systems Integration at the Cuyahoga Land Bank and a Researcher at Case Western Reserve University. Michael develops tools that use data to make acquisition decisions and has also developed the Property Profile System (
Ronald Pavlovich worked in the for-profit public accounting and private business arena for more than 25 years, serving in such functions as CFO, Director of Outsourced CFO Services, and Sr. Manager of Accounting and Auditing Services. He worked for such companies as Cohen & Company, CBIZ and B-Dry System, Inc. Ron was also a partner in a commercial and residential property reconstruction and restoration business for several years. He served as Treasurer on the Board of South Street Ministries in Akron. Ron has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from The University of Akron and attained his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in 1991.
Adam Stalder leads the Community Stabilization (demolition) team and the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Adam has 13 years of community development experience, most recently serving as the Executive Director of Northwest Neighborhoods CDC (NWN). As Executive Director, Stalder lead the member-approved merger of Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization and Cudell Improvement, Inc. Prior 2020, he worked in real estate development, economic development, and served as Managing Director of Metro West Community Development Organization. Adam has a master’s degree in urban planning, design and development from Cleveland State University and a bachelor’s degree in geography from The Ohio State University.
